Last October, I joined a group of roughly 20 Plymouth residents on a walking tour of Parkers Lake Cemetery. The city-owned cemetery, overlooking the lake, isn’t widely known. “A lot of people that came on the tour mentioned that they didn’t even know it was there,” says historic site coordinator Ryan Barland. What stuck with me the most, as tour guide and historic site coordinator Allison Hesse led us among the tombstones, was people’s inquisitiveness. Many were already aware of the broad strokes of the families who were laid to rest there or else in the process of unearthing their family’s own ties to Plymouth. Learn more about this year’s tours on page 35.
In this arts and culture issue, a recurring motif has been how family history has shaped the creative paths of local artists. In my conversation with muralist Seran Otterson, she identified her father as playing a major role in shaping her creative journey. “My father was a collector,” she says. Starting with paper memorabilia and expanding over the years to everything from World War I mementos to Roman and Byzantine collectibles, he gained international acclaim and shared his collections in print and exhibitions. “I grew up in a house [where] … we were living in the middle of history,” Otterson says. “It was like a museum. I think it is no wonder that I was attracted to the traditional arts of my culture.” Learn more about Otterson on page 20.
As the days start to shorten this fall, I plan to spend my free time taking stock of the memorabilia at my family’s cabin on the St. Croix River. Generations’ worth of ephemera has accumulated in the attic, each telling a part of a story that would otherwise be forgotten with time.
Have you made any interesting discoveries about your local family ties? Let me know at madeline@localmedia.co.
Until next time,
—Madeline Kopiecki
